Mr. Jonathan Shinnors:

I will respond as manager of emergency accommodation for the Simon Community mid-west region, which covers Limerick and Clare. We are aware of a lot of uncounted numbers due to individuals not wanting to come into services for many different reasons, including addiction, mental health issues or the trauma of returning to a hostel after possibly having a negative experience previously. There have been a number of rough sleeper counts in recent years, which show a marked increase in the visibility of individuals sleeping homeless. We have spoken a lot today about the people who can engage with services. I work predominantly with individuals who need assistance and do not have the capacity to engage with services. Many homeless people manage themselves.

The pressure points are all leading to a situation in which we will see far more people homeless on the streets. Although we are doing all this work in the background, the pressure points include families and individuals who are in work and seeking emergency accommodation. They are squeezing the marginalised people with addiction and mental health issues out of the hostels. We now have working people entering the system who can sustain their beds in the hostels and engage with supports. Those who are entrenched in addiction, suffering mental health issues and so on can no longer sustain themselves and are sleeping rough on the streets or wherever.